November 28, 2015

Spicy & Tantalizing, Goan Style Shrimp Curry

I'm writing this post, post Thanksgiving for a very good reason. If your home is anything like ours, 3 days after Thanksgiving, leftovers are dwindling and basically we're all sick of the leftovers and ready to move onto anything that doesn't have turkey in it - or cranberries - or pumpkins!

So I'm going all out the other way of the culinary spectrum this week - hot, spicy & tantalizing. Which naturally means in India you're of to Goa!

As is quite typical with Goan cuisine, the masala paste is the very foundation on this curry. Hot spicy, hint of sour and very tantalizing.

In fact I am convinced that if I ate this regularly, you’d have to take down the front door to let me in because I’d have no portion control. That’s how tantalizing these flavors are.

I love how quickly this converts into vegetarian – just omit the shrimp but I would not omit those gorgeous raw mango slices. You’ll be surprised just how good they taste.

Fact of the matter is growing up, I know plenty of Goans (mums of friends I went to school with) would freeze the masala paste so it was always at hand to make a quick curry for dinner at hand with a side of fried fish and rice.

That’s all it take to make a lovely meal – a combination of great ingredients and spices, tamarind, coconut, coriander seeds, red chillies, mustard that gives this curry a great foundation of flavors and then you build on it with the coconut milk, the sour of raw mangoes and of course the slow simmer that melds all these great flavors together.

The shrimp is the crowning jewel but easily turns into a vegetarian just by omission.

Masala paste: Use a grinder that is capable of making very fine pastes.

Add all the ingredients to the bowl, add vinegar and ¼ cup water and process to a fine paste – a slurry.

Add ¼ up water and process again. Repeat 1 more time with the remaining ¼ cup water. This is to ensure as fine a paste as possible without lumps.

In a deep pan, heat oil until hot and ripples have formed. Add the chopped onions, ½ tsp salt and sauté until translucent and softened but not brown. Add the masala paste and sauté for 5-7 minutes until fragrant.

Comments

Spicy & Tantalizing, Goan Style Shrimp Curry

I'm writing this post, post Thanksgiving for a very good reason. If your home is anything like ours, 3 days after Thanksgiving, leftovers are dwindling and basically we're all sick of the leftovers and ready to move onto anything that doesn't have turkey in it - or cranberries - or pumpkins!

So I'm going all out the other way of the culinary spectrum this week - hot, spicy & tantalizing. Which naturally means in India you're of to Goa!

As is quite typical with Goan cuisine, the masala paste is the very foundation on this curry. Hot spicy, hint of sour and very tantalizing.

In fact I am convinced that if I ate this regularly, you’d have to take down the front door to let me in because I’d have no portion control. That’s how tantalizing these flavors are.

I love how quickly this converts into vegetarian – just omit the shrimp but I would not omit those gorgeous raw mango slices. You’ll be surprised just how good they taste.

Fact of the matter is growing up, I know plenty of Goans (mums of friends I went to school with) would freeze the masala paste so it was always at hand to make a quick curry for dinner at hand with a side of fried fish and rice.

That’s all it take to make a lovely meal – a combination of great ingredients and spices, tamarind, coconut, coriander seeds, red chillies, mustard that gives this curry a great foundation of flavors and then you build on it with the coconut milk, the sour of raw mangoes and of course the slow simmer that melds all these great flavors together.

The shrimp is the crowning jewel but easily turns into a vegetarian just by omission.